Lucky, Fuad want confidentiality

OPPOSITION MPs Gillian Lucky and Dr Fuad Khan on Thursday called upon Government to ensure that knowledge about the assets of public officials and their immediate families does not fall into the hands of criminals or persons with a political agenda. Lucky told Newsday that she has no problem about public officials having to declare, in addition to their assets, those of their spouses and children. However she expressed concern about the level of confidentiality with which that information would be given by the Integrity Commission. Stressing that confidentiality regarding such information is critical, Lucky warned that criminals are becoming increasingly hi-tech in their operations and referred to some recent kidnapping cases where persons were reported to be “on a list” due to the alleged leak of confidential information. She also warned that such information must “not be used by any Government which has a political agenda”.

The Pointe-a-Pierre MP said integrity legislation should be approached with in a holistic manner and include strict guidelines for persons (including the media) who disseminate information regarding the financial assets of public officials and their immediate families. Khan shared Lucky’s views, pointing out that information on Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday’s financial assets were “in the hands of other people” although that was supposed to be confidential. “Confidentiality is not practised,” he stated. According to Khan, legislation should be brought to Parliament that would “give more teeth” to the Commission, allowing it to order lower-level public officials such as Chief Executive Officers of State companies and police officers to declare their financial assets. He added there must be accountability across the board for politicians and non-politicians alike.